Al Nakba commemorated

Events in Ottawa and Montreal

All over the world this month at the same time that Israel celebrates 60 years of Independence, the resulting Nakba (catastrophe) that created hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees is being commemorated. (See media ad entitled: "We cannot celebrate")

On May 8th, in Ottawa, about 80 people - Jews, Palestinians, and others - stood silently outside the Israel celebrations held at Lansdowne Park, dressed in black, carrying black balloons. A report and a video should be coming out this week.

In the meantime, see Ron Saba's wonderful photos of a Montreal rally and march. The first one speaks volumes. Families thought they were temporarily leaving their homes until the fighting stopped, but they were never allowed to return. All they have left of their family homes are the keys to the front door.

House demolitions are still continuing, both to make way for more Jewish settlement in the West Bank, and as a collective punishment for Palestinian resistance. Read the story of Ottawan Monzer Zimmo's home which was just recently bulldozed, and learn about Jewish/Palestinian hopes for peace.









UPCOMING OTTAWA EVENT:

Palestinian Civil Society organizations issued a statement in March 2008 calling on civil society around the world to Boycott the "Israel at 60" Celebrations, and to instead focus on the Sixty Years of Dispossession and Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine.

This May, Israel celebrates the birth of a Jewish state but disavows any responsibility for the destruction of the Palestinian homeland and the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or Catastrophe. More than half of the indigenous Palestinian population living in Palestine (an estimated 1.3 million people) was displaced by Zionist militias and the State of Israel between the end of 1947 and early 1949.

"Israel at 60 is a state that continues to deny Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned right to return to their homes and receive compensation, simply because they are "non-Jews". It still illegally occupies Palestinian and other Arab lands, in violation of numerous UN resolutions. It persists in its blatant denial of fundamental Palestinian human rights, in contravention of international humanitarian law and human rights conventions. It still subjects its own Palestinian citizens to a system of institutionalized discrimination, strongly reminiscent of the defunct apartheid regime in South Africa. And Israel gets away with all this, thanks to the unprecedented immunity granted to it by the unlimited and munificent US and European economic, diplomatic, political, and academic support".* Canada has also become one of the strongest supporters of Israel's violations of international law, with Prime Minister Harper
infamously calling extensive bombing of civilians a "measured response".

The Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network is heeding this call from Palestinian civil society and invite you to join us for a teach-in on Sunday May 18th at the Ottawa Public Library (120 Metcalfe), from 1-4pm.


Israel at 60: Something to Celebrate? An interactive teach-in and discussion featuring:


Samah Sabawi, Palestinian Canadian Human Rights Activist; "Al-Nakbah: A Human Tragedy"


Diana Ralph, Coordinator, Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians; "Which side are you on? Jews of Conscience must stand with Palestinians"


Hassan Husseini, CUPE Activist/ PhD Candidate in Political Science at Carleton University; "Heeding the International Solidarity Movement's Call: The Boycott Divestment and Sanctions Campaign in Canada and Beyond"

Organized by the Ottawa Palestine Solidarity Network

*Palestinian Appeal to International Civil Society, Badil Resource Centre for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights; http://www.badil.org/Publications/badil-nakba-60-info-packet/statements/statement03.htm

For further information and resources visit Naqba 60 Packet 2008 www.badil.org